Boot camp fitness for women deconstructed

Guest post by Sara Scurfield

Boot camps seem to be all the rage this summer amongst the fitness trendsters.  Although formerly quite sporty, I am now working full time and definitely a fitness dabbler.  Feeling a bit bored by the gym and in need of a fitness injection, I decided to bite the bullet, and join a two-week morning boot camp in my local park.

Arriving at the park, I was greeted by a bubbly trainer dressed in pink and almost thirty women in various levels of dry fit and spandex.  I’d chosen a company called Fit for a Princess (www.fitforaprincess.co.uk) that specializes in women’s boot camps in South West London. Being that it was in Fulham, there was a healthy handful of antipodeans, yummy mummys and everything in between.

The Workouts

The first day set the pace with a quick timed lap around the park and a general workout.  The two-week schedule was as follows:

Monday: Intro day + lap
Tuesday: Legs and Buns
Wednesday: Arms and Abs
Thursday: Cardio – 6 AM start!
Friday: Legs and Buns
Saturday: General workout 1.5 hours + lap
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Arms and Abs
Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Legs and Buns
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Arms and Abs

There were definitely women of all abilities and levels of fitness.  I did my warm-up walk with one woman who had just had her second baby 60 days ago. I was amazed! She assured me that staying home didn’t mean sleeping, therefore handing off the babies to her husband and getting outside was almost a treat.  I could almost see her point.

The workouts were always different and always challenging.  I have never done so many squats and push-ups in my life! Cardio days were suitably scary, but the trainer encouraged us to bring our iPods (and even suggested playlists).

The Results

I came home after that first day sweaty, wet (London rain!) and glowing.  You can’t beat the rush of endorphins from a good workout. It was also nice to feel like I’d done something for myself and been outside before going to work all day.

The one casualty of two weeks of boot camp was definitely staying up late.  Luckily, my partner found it hilarious rather than lame that I was in bed by 9:30pm max every night. There is something about doing something good for your body that makes you want to take more care in your whole life.  I found myself wanting to eat better, read better books get more rest and just lead a more peaceful lifestyle. As part of the programme, they do give you a recommended diet.  I did consider following the regime, but I ended up just loosely interpreting it.  No dairy, no wheat, no sugar and no alcohol seemed a bit extreme, so I just made an effort to cut down on all the “allergenic” foods and make as many meals as possible from scratch- with heaps of veggies and no red meat.

Two weeks into boot camp, I was waking up easily at 5:30am and found myself almost looking forward to it. Since I was going to bed early, it was like being on a different time zone and I hardly felt the difference.  I never thought I’d be able to do it, and here I was enjoying it! Over time, I had bonded with a few of the girls and there were sure to be a few laughs as we goofed our way through the workouts.

On our last day, we repeated our lap from the first day. I was still definitely middle of the pack, but I had shaved an incredible 50 seconds off my time. I also found myself standing up straighter and I could do 10 good push ups without being on my knees- something that I have always struggled to do. Two weeks is never going to fundamentally change your fitness or your body shape, but my two weeks of boot camp definitely helped me on my way.  Not to mention, I’ve made a few new friends who can help me celebrate with a smoothie…or a sneaky glass of wine.